Shots in the Mercedes factory
One perpetrator, two dead and many unanswered questions
A hearse leaves the Mercedes factory in Sindelfingen.
© Julian Rettig / DPA
Early in the morning, production in hall 56 of the Mercedes plant in Sindelfingen initially runs as usual. Then shots are fired – two men die. The suspect is arrested, but there is not much more clarity.
The horror of many employees after the deadly shots at the Sindelfingen Mercedes plant is written all over their faces. Hundreds of them leave the scene of the crime through gate 5, either silently or at best whispering softly. Some of them witnessed the act of violence in Hall 56 early Thursday morning while production was running. A 53-year-old is said to have shot, two employees of a subcontractor, both 44 years old, die.
“I thought a pallet fell down”
The dead are employees of the Rhenus company, said a spokeswoman for the logistics service provider. Three permanent employees were involved in the incident.
“I heard the shots, thought a pallet had fallen. Then someone ran up excitedly and said that shots had been fired. We all had to get out – and the company sent us home,” said an employee of the “Bild” newspaper . The newspaper quoted a colleague of the suspect as saying: “The guy is said to have fired his entire magazine. He hasn’t been with us for long, a year at most.”
The factory security overpowered the suspect, who then allowed himself to be arrested by the police without resistance. The public prosecutor’s office is initially assuming a single perpetrator and is silent on further details. The 53-year-old should be brought before the magistrate on Thursday, a spokesman for the prosecutor said.
After the first emergency calls at around 7.45 a.m., the police and rescue workers were on site in large numbers, but any help came too late for the two victims. According to their own statements, the investigators still have no knowledge of a motive for the arrested suspect. A police spokesman was initially unable to provide any information on whether the 53-year-old and the two victims knew each other. Interrogations were being conducted by the criminal police. The suspected murder weapon was secured, said the spokesman. He has no information as to what kind of weapon it is.
How did the gun get onto the Mercedes site?
Many questions are still open. For example, how the weapon got onto the factory premises. “I hope that they might do a bit more checks. If you can get weapons in there that easily, it can hit one of us,” said a Mercedes employee and reported a “queasy feeling” before the start of his shift.
According to a police spokesman, the employees in the affected hall are being looked after psychologically. There is no longer any danger for the employees. “Production continues as normal, except for the hall.”
Mercedes-Benz said it was “deeply dismayed and shocked” by the crime. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site,” said a company spokesman.
After the shots were fired, the personnel in the affected hall left the factory premises in good order. “So at the moment the tape is not running as normal,” said the Mercedes spokesman. When the hall can be released again and production can continue there is still to be clarified. It was also initially unclear how many employees were sent home.
Frenzy on factory premises in February
About 35,000 people work in the Sindelfingen plant of Mercedes-Benz with a history of more than one hundred years. In addition to the E-Class, the S-Class and its electric counterpart EQS roll off the production line there.
In February last year, after a wild frenzy, the driver of a minibus on the factory premises was only stopped by an accident and a shot. The man had broken through a barrier to the factory premises with his car and stepped on the gas pedal. Police only stopped the driver with a shot in the leg. The then 61-year-old was then placed in a psychiatric facility.